ELON — The subtle tattoo on the back of Ali Ford’s left arm looks more like brush marks of artwork than lettering and words.

It’s Arabic, the flowing script just above her left elbow, small but profound in its meaning.

A girl who possesses the heart of a lion.

“I think it’s very fitting for her, a mark of her soul almost,” teammate and close friend Kelsey Evans says.

“It’s not how big you are, it’s how big you play,” Ford says, applying another interpretation. “I really like and believe in that.”

What better way to explain her Elon University women’s basketball career, the 1,966 points that rank second in school history, the 331 buckets — and climbing — from 3-point range that have established an all-time record in the Southern Conference.

For four years the 5-foot-3 guard has been the shortest player on Elon’s roster.

For four years she has been the Phoenix’s most prolific scorer, all the while evolving from the dreadlocked freshman who fearlessly bombed away to the floor-leading senior who provides the determined pulse of the Phoenix.

Yet here is Ford on a recent afternoon after practice, slurping on a juice box that’s fit for elementary school lunches, catching good-natured grief for her curious knowledge of capital cities in South America and her eclectic musical preferences — a taste that touches everything from Joan Jett to Elton John to Celine Dion to The Avett Brothers.

And there she was for three straight days at Christmas, sneaking away from the apartment she shares with Evans and volleyball players Carly Ledbetter and Celia Rose Eddy, painstakingly spray-painting T-shirts in secret that contained cityscapes and the roommates’ initials and became everybody’s favorite gifts.

Who is Ford on the court?

An undersized, undisputed butt-kicker.

“A warrior,” Elon coach Charlotte Smith says. “She’s serious and intense, strictly business. I feel like if I ever had to go to battle, if I ever had to pick anybody, I’d pick Ali Ford.”

OK, so who is she off the court?

An unexpected Hallmark moment waiting to happen.

“She’s thoughtful, more than you’d ever think she would be. That’s what’s so surprising about her,” Eddy says. “She’s kind of a tough nut to crack, but she’s the most supportive friend you could ask for. She will stay up late with you and then wake up early. She’s the best person to text or call when you’re in trouble.”

That’s Ali Ford, the considerate lion.

Eighty-seven minutes prior to the start of a home game last week, long before Jay-Z’s “Run This Town” bumps through the house speakers, Ford is alone on the floor, Nikes squeaking noticeably through the quiet as she polishes dribbling moves and quick-release shots in an almost empty Alumni Gym.

Page 2 of 4 - Her solitary pre-game session will go on for 11 more minutes until another player emerges from either locker room.

“You can’t help but be impressed by her work ethic,” Smith says. “She’s passionate about the game. She absolutely loves the game. And she’s committed. You can find her in here on days off, shooting in the gym.”

It always has been that way with sports and Alexandra Midge Ford — the relentless drive, the competitive bonds, the toil and the rewards.

The daughter of a former cross country runner at Appalachian State turned avid marathoner, she was 4 years old when she entered her first biathlon. In fourth grade, she not only was the lone girl in an all-boys football league, she was the quarterback of her team, a ground-pounding bunch that used two passing plays.

She participated in baseball on boys’ teams from kindergarten through Liberty Middle School in Morganton. By then, baseball season, track and field season and Amateur Athletic Union basketball season were overlapping, creating an after-school scheduling crunch.

“That’s what I looked forward to,” she says. “It didn’t really matter what I was doing, just as long as I was doing something.”

Still, Ford, rarely the spectator, remained forever in search of more.

Even tagging along with her parents, who ran road races or 5Ks on the weekends, often sparked rushed decisions in the name of competition.

“Sometimes I would go just to go and then at the last minute I’d be like, ‘OK, I want to do it,’ and sign up and run it,” she says. “It was like, ‘Well, I don’t want to just sit here.’ ”

Ford earned 18 varsity letters at Morganton Freedom High School. She participated in six sports, shining in five during her senior year (cross country, basketball, golf, softball, tennis). She snowboarded, too, until her dad confiscated the board after she signed her national letter of intent with Elon.

And now, whenever the Phoenix’s basketball season ends — it opens the Southern Conference Tournament on Saturday night — she will join Elon’s softball team. Last year, in her first season of college softball, she appeared in 31 games and made 25 starts as a utility infielder.

Then in the following summer, she ran her first half-marathon, alongside her father. Her goal was to break two hours. She finished in 1 hour and 52 minutes.

“She’s a pure athlete,” Evans says. “You could stick her in any situation, any kind of game, any kind of sport, and she would thrive in it.”

Three years ago, Ledbetter, an outside hitter / middle blocker on the Elon volleyball team, couldn’t help but notice another certain female on campus. She was a fellow freshman, a fellow athlete, short and kind of quiet by comparison.

Page 3 of 4 - And her hair was magnetizing.

“She was just so confident walking around in her dreadlocks,” Ledbetter says. “I was instantly drawn to her. There was this energy or something. I was like, ‘I have to be friends with that girl.’

“Ali just has this presence. It attracts people. People know there’s something different about her. She is just so driven and has this greatness about her. I know that might sound silly …”

Ledbetter trails off.

“But it’s true,” Eddy says, quickly interjecting. “All the other athletes, all the other men’s athletes, wish they could be as good as Ali Ford. She’s a baller.”

The years since have formed an inseparable foursome — and an unique visual — with the 6-2 Evans, the 5-10 Ledbetter, the 6-3 Eddy and Ford, the self-described “midget” of the sisterhood, belting out karaoke-style songs and busting off goofy dances and attempting to raise a bearded dragon (a lizard from PetSmart) for fun, while leaning on each other through the highs and lows of their college journey.

Ford, she of the lion’s heart, has become the group’s emotional conscience.

Ledbetter was especially sad once when she opened an email from Ford. There were 10 helpful ideas and links to three cheerful songs inside.

“Anytime you have a problem, she’s always there,” Ledbetter says.

“If my friends are down or they’re depressed, that weighs on me,” Ford says, “and I’m not really sure why that is, but I really care about what people feel. I don’t care about what people think. I could care less about what other people think.

“But if it’s my friends or a group of people that’s been looked down on or something, I really care about how they feel. And if I can do anything to make someone else not have a bad day, or if they’re worried or stressed or something like that, and I don’t do it, then that’s on me. Then that’s something I have to think about.”

There was one night in the fall when Ledbetter missed the chance to deposit a kill for the Elon volleyball team. Cheering from the Alumni Gym seats, Ford shouted some advice, using Ledbetter’s nickname.

Jump higher, Carl.

“It was the only thing you could hear in the gym,” Ledbetter says. “With Ali, there’s always a way. You didn’t get a kill? Jump higher. That was her solution.”

Ford has been forced to adjust in basketball this season. For the first time in her college career, the Phoenix lacked a traditional point guard. So she shifted to that spot, the No. 2 scorer in Elon history transitioning from a catch-and-shoot attacker to more of a facilitator and organizer.

Page 4 of 4 - Her scoring hasn’t suffered. She’s averaging 16.1 points per game, right in line with her totals from previous seasons.

What’s different is she has become a more efficient player. Her shooting percentages from the field, from 3, from the foul line, all have risen to career bests. And she already has surpassed her old season high in assists by 20.

“In a perfect world, yeah, Ali would play the off guard,” Smith says. “But she’s transitioned really well. She understands the game. She has a great basketball mind. She has accepted her role as a point guard and does a great job.”

Ford’s resolute voice has remained unchanged when dispensing directives.

Chattanooga lost just once in 20 Southern Conference women’s games during the regular season. That lone speed bump occurred in early January at Elon.

“I just wanted to win so bad that I was getting jumpy,” Evans says, motioning frenetically with her hands and adding that her “box out!” instructions to teammates were growing increasingly animated.

Then, Ford’s simple interruption became prophetic.

“She was like, ‘Kelsey. Calm. Down.’ ” Evans says. “And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s right.’ I need to relax. If I get a layup on the other end, I can’t be shooting it over the backboard.

“I know every game Ali’s going to come to play. I never have to worry about her mental state or if she’s ready to play, because she’s always ready to play. She’s always ready to compete. And a lot of times, she’s having to keep me at a stable emotional level.”